


You Can Lead a Winchester to Water

by Coconutice22



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Choose Your Own Adventure, Gen, potential Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 02:33:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 3,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coconutice22/pseuds/Coconutice22
Summary: But you can't make him a duck.Or can you?A pick your own adventure where the goal is to save the Winchesters, before they do what Winchesters do best. Can you save Sam, Dean, and Castiel from almost certain doom?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is both a WIP and a completed works, depending on which options you pick. The longer story is not complete, but if you go for the right choices, you will end up with a satisfactory ending. 
> 
> The parts are mixed around so don't think you've done it wrong if you go for a later chapter and end up at an earlier chapter after that. Intentionally some of the later sections are chronologically lower in the chapter rankings. 
> 
> Good luck!

“Definitely something in here.”

“Yeah? You don’t say,” Dean rolled his eyes at Sam.

Something was haunting the woods, killing the animals, taking over the cabins set up along the way. This was the oldest of the cabins in the area. The runes carved into the outside looked suspicious enough they had forced their way in to discover that ice had formed on every surface in the stone building. From the outside they had guessed it was two rooms at most, but once they’d entered they could see at least three doors leading off from the main living area.

Dean and Sam pulled up their guns, shoulders hunching, prepared. Castiel pulled out his angel blade.

“Take a room each?” Dean suggested. He didn’t want to admit the tips of his ears were burning from the cold. “Faster we can get out of here, less chance of us getting blue balls.”

Sam and Castiel nodded their agreement and they all took their positions in front of a door.

“Wait,” Sam hesitated. The vibe he got from the room was just all off. “Is this a good idea? Aren’t we better off going in together?”

 

* * *

[Go to Chapter 2  for: “Nope. Three doors, three of us, let’s do this.”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35628996)

[Go to Chapter 3  for: “Fine,” Dean sighed. “We’ll do it together.”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629035)

[Go to Chapter 4 if you think they should be doing this scene, but all wearing mittens and woolly hats for warmth. ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629158)


	2. Chapter 2

“Nope. Three doors, three of us, let’s do this.”

Sam looked back to his door, swallowing further comments. Dean had a point.

“Go!” Dean called, and they kicked their respective doors in.

Between kicking down the front door and now kicking down these side doors ( _Why didn’t we just try opening them first?_ Sam wondered) it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the figure inside knew they were coming and was poised for attack the moment Sam was visible.

Sam found himself looking back at him. Before he had time to process the figure, he was pinned to the nearest wall with a hand around his throat. He kicked his legs out and tried to gain purchase to fight back, but the fake Sam was far stronger.

“Nothing in here!” Sam heard Dean shout.

“This room is clear too,” Castiel added.

There was white light sparkling in Sam’s eyes as his oxygen ran low. He was going to pass out soon and Dean and Castiel wouldn’t even know this other Sam wasn’t really him. His evil doppelgänger, trying to kill him before he replaced him. Still Sam kept struggling, trying to fight. As a last ditch attempt he reached into his pocket and found the stun gun. With his last bit of energy he flicked the gun on and threw it at the creature’s thigh.

“AHHHH!” the creature yelped, jumping back and letting Sam go.

Sam grabbed his gun and aimed at the creature’s head, shooting out every round he had. The thing turned to dust just as Dean and Castiel arrived in the room.

“SAM!” Dean was at Sam’s side, kneeling besides him. “What was it?”

Sam shook his head. “No idea,” he gasped. “Gone now.”

“Did you manage to kill it?” Castiel asked.

“I don’t know.” Sam looked up at them, feeling pretty hopeless. He should have trusted his instincts in the first place. Should have told Dean it was safer in numbers.

Dean gave him a hand up.

“The other rooms were clear?” Sam rasped.

“Yeah, clean as a button.”

“Maybe that was the only one of whatever this was then.” Sam hoped. He really hoped.

“We should go back to the headquarters and use the library resources to look up what that thing was.”

Sam nodded in agreement.

They were back in the car before it hit him what Castiel had said.

“You’ve never called it the headquarters before.”

There was a beat. Sam put his hand on the door handle, fingers curling around, ready to open it, ready to flee even if the car was in motion.

* * *

 

[Go to Chapter 5: “Yes I have.”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629197)

[Go to Chapter 6: “I thought I’d test the word out. Isn’t it accurate?”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629239)


	3. Chapter 3

The door handle was so cold to the touch.

“Just kick it down, Sam,” Dean suggested. His hands were shaking from the cold creeping in.

Sam lifted up a leg and booted the door down.

The creature they were hunting ran for them, but upon seeing the three of them stopped and started to shake. Its features shifted like sand zipping from something that looked vaguely Sam-like, to something that looked very Castiel-like, to a definite Dean.

It was vibrating intensely by the time it stuck on a look that mimicked all three of them, features perfectly blended together.

“What the fuck is that?” Dean wondered.

“A type of Ahuizotl,” Castiel informed them calmly as he walked forward, angel blade in hand. The creature seemed subdued and overwhelmed while it tried to pick just one of them to transform into.

Castiel reached out and stuck his blade in the thing’s neck, reducing it to a gory pile of blood and guts.

“We should check the other rooms.”

“There won’t be others, they work alone,” Castiel informed them. “But,” he looked around. The room they were in was much warmer than the room they’d walked into. “I think something was keeping this here. Maybe to sell it?”

“Let me guess – they don’t like the cold so that’s why that is like that?” Dean nodded to the ice room.

“I’m not sure on their exact physiology, this is a breed I haven’t seen before. But that does seem a reasonable assumption.”

Sam watched Dean’s eyes light up. “Hey, Sammy,” Dean grinned.

“No, Dean.”

“Oh, yes, yes, Dean,” Dean grinned. “Time for the Deep Freezer.”

The Deep Freezer was an ice-blasting beam they’d ‘confiscated’ off a group of young demigods they’d come across the previous year. They hadn’t found much of a use for it though. Dean had tried to used it for domestic situations, but instead of chilling his beer it had exploded the bottle.

Castiel had tried to use it to freeze a nearby lake as he’d been interested in learning the mechanics of ice skating. After several failed attempts though, he had gladly given up.

Sam groaned. “Dean, that thing is–”

“Perfect for this situation!”

“Expensive and impractical!”

“What if there’s more of these things?”

Sam looked at the pile of goop again. “Seemed just as easy to kill it with the blade.”

“Pfftt, you’re no fun.”

“And we now have something on the loose that is finding and capturing creatures we have to find.”

“I’m never going to get to use the deep freeze,” Dean sighed.

Castiel and Sam exchanged looks. If Dean was going to sulk their whole drive back to the bunker, they both knew it would only result in even louder music being played.

“Fine, let’s get the machine out.”

They stepped out of the cabin to go back to the car, Dean’s step noticeably springier in the face of getting to use a new toy.

* * *

 

[Go to Chapter 9](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629482)


	4. Chapter 4

“ _Wait,” Sam hesitated. The vibe he got from the room was just all off. “Is this a good idea? Aren’t we better off going in together?”_

“I’m freezing my balls off here, man! If we just take a door each, we can be done with this already!”

“We have mittens and hats in the trunk of the car, I made sure to pack them. I told you they’d be useful.”

Dean shot Castiel the stink-eye. “I don’t need mittens.”

“Your hands are going blue and mine are cold too, let’s just go gear up and come back again.”

“Whatever is in there,” Dean waved at the shut doors, “If there is anything in there, it’s probably already heard us coming by now.” His teeth were chattering now, jaw twitching as the coldness crept in.

Maybe the mittens weren’t such a terrible idea, or at least a damn scarf. Castiel, to his credit, had knitted some really warm gear lately. 

* * *

 

[Go to Chapter 9](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629482)


	5. Chapter 5

Sam felt his heart beat in his mouth suddenly as his blood pressure spiked.

This wasn’t Castiel.

“Dean?”

“Yeah?”

Dean was fumbling with the music system, trying to find the perfect post-successful hunt track.

“What did I used to claim was my favorite ice cream?”

“What?” Dean scrunched his forehead up. “What’s that gotta do with anything?”

“Just tell me if you remember.”

Dean huffed. “Bubble gum, right? Because you were trying to get that girl to like you?”

So Dean was Dean.

Slowly Sam went for his gun.

“Dean?”

“Yes?” Dean said irritated now, focus more on the road than his younger brother.

“This isn’t Cas.”

With that, Sam turned around in his seat and shot the fake Castiel straight in the head. Or where his head should have been anyway if he hadn’t ducked out of the way in time.

Dean in response slammed on the brakes of the car, jostling all of them around.

“WHAT THE FUCK SAM?!”

Dean turned just in time to see Fake Castiel throw himself at Sam. As he got closer his features morphed more into Sam’s, with a hint of Dean, snarling as he went.

Just like the one Sam had already killed, this one went for Sam’s throat too.

Luckily Dean realized quickly that Sam was correct about the fake Castiel. He reached for his gun, and though his subconscious knew he’d regret the bullet holes later, started to fire at the creature.

The noise of the gun in such a small space left their ears ringing, all senses on high alert and yet muffled by the fight ongoing inside.

Sensing its time to fight was up, the creature turned into its gaseous state and promptly vanished through the broken glass of the back window.

“What the fuck was that?”

“Same thing that got me back in that cabin. Or same species anyway.” Sam gently touched his abused throat.

“We gotta go back, got to find Castiel.” Dean stuck the car into drive and spun them around again.

“I’ll try calling him.” Sam picked up his phone and hit dial on Castiel’s number.

Nothing.

Their speed picked up as Dean put the pedal to the metal.

“It might not mean anything, Dean.” Sam’s heart was sinking though as again Castiel’s phone went straight to voicemail.

Dean didn’t answer, hands too tight on the wheel, eyes barely blinking as he focused on ignoring the sounds of the shards of glass falling out of the windows they’d shot through trying to kill the creature.

Sam pressed call again on his phone and held it up to his ear. His eyes slipped from his brother’s face to the wide open road in front of them.

It was funny that even with both of them looking at the road ahead, they didn’t see the spikes in the road that had popped up until the car had already driven over them.

The Impala span out of control, even with Dean’s best attempts to stabilize it.

They both jumped out soon as the car had come to a stop, guns cocked and ready to go.

“I’m going to kill whoever just trashed my car,” Dean growled.

Sam went to offer to help when he felt the same pressure on his throat he’d already felt twice that day.

“Sam?” Dean’s eyes were alert, face flush with adrenaline. “SAM!” He shouted as Sam slipped to his knees, eyes rolling in his skull. He could feel the breath leaving his body.

As focused on Sam’s struggles as he was, Dean didn’t even notice when a second figure slipped up behind him and knocked him out.

* * *

 

[Go to Chapter 8 to follow Sam’s journey to Dead, Death, and Beyond…](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629413)

[Go to Chapter 10 if you want to see what happened to Dean.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629698)


	6. Chapter 6

Sam blinked. “Technically, I guess?”

Dean turned around briefly, wheel jerking slightly as he did, to add: “It’s our home, Cas, not the headquarters,” Dean scoffed.

“Dean, can you focus on the road!” Sam had leaned over the put a hand on the wheel.

“Yeah, yeah. We’re good.” Dean turned back around.

Dean turned the music up louder and started to hum along.

“That place was damn cold, but you know what?”

“What?” Castiel echoed back.

“I think we should do ice cream sundaes for dinner tonight.”

Sam laughed. “Dean, it’s the middle of winter.”

“You know what, Cas,” Dean went on, catching Castiel’s eye in his rear-view mirror. “Sundaes were Sam’s favorite as a kid, because of the banana in it. And then one time he had a crush on this girl at school and–”

“I’m not sure Cas needs to hear this, Dean.”

Sam was blushing though, smiling fondly even still at the memories of the few innocent, carefree days they’d had.

“I’d like to hear about it, if I may?”

“Hell yeah! So he pretends he’s really into bubble gum ice cream, for whatever reason. And it was costing him $20 or $30 a day to buy all this ice cream. But he was determined to impress the girl. Except,” Dean started laughing.

“Yes?” Castiel prompted.

Sam shrugged. “I really didn’t like the bubble gum, so I’d take a few mouthfuls, then go to the bathroom and spit them out. Gracie ended up thinking I was really lactose intolerant for all the time I spent in the bathroom.”

“We’ll get you some good ol’ fashioned chocolate this time, Sam.”

“Oh God,” Sam put his head in his hands. “Can’t I at least get frozen yogurt?”

“What about sprinkles?”

“I…” Sam considered. “Okay, sprinkles it is.”

And they all went home and had sprinkles and ice cream.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end!
> 
> Congratulations! You reached one of the happy endings to be found here! You kept all the Winchesters alive. Henceforth, you are now a duck.
> 
> Feel free to go back and try the other ending if you want to see what the other options led to.
> 
> Thanks for playing.


	7. Chapter 7

“You know how many times you owe your life to me, wee Winchester?”

Sam’s head was throbbing. But the fact he could feel the pain meant he was at least alive.

With a grunt he sat up.

Rowena was standing over him, looking far too pleased with herself.

“Where… what...” his thoughts were muddled up and his speech barely understandable. “’Wena?”

Rowena crossed her arms over her chest.

“Because the answer is far too bloody many times, Winchester!” She snapped, walking off, hair and dress flowing behind her beautifully.

“How’d you… what did...”

“You were technically dead, you know. Yet again.” She raised an eyebrow at him and took a long sip from the delicate bone china cup she’d picked up. “I’d heard you, your brother and Castiel were to be sent off for auction. I used a summoning spell to bring your body here and a little lemon, thyme, and rosemary brought you back.”

“I was dead?” Sam’s brain felt like he’d been put through a blender.

“Technically.” Rowena put her index finger and thumb close to each other. “Just a touch dead, barely dead at all by your standards."

Sam looked around. It appeared to be a hotel room. A very nice hotel room at that.

“And why exactly did you go to all this effort?”

“You wound me, Sam! Is the goodness of my own heart not enough?”

Sam didn’t bother replying.

“Oh fine.” Rowena put her cup down. “There’s to be an auction. An organization that’s been making hybrid creatures are putting them on sale. Anything you can think of, mixed and matched with whatever else you can think of. But they were missing a few things and so the trap was set to capture Castiel.”

“So they weren’t after me and Dean?”

“That is where my contact got a little vague on things. I am not sure if they meant to keep you or to use you for, _ahem_ , other things.”

“Other things like?”

“They breed hybrid creatures, Samuel. Fill in the blanks for yourself.”

“So you’ve what, saved me so you can sell me back to them?”

Sam chose to ignore for the time being the part where an evil organization existed that apparently wanted him for his _sperm_ of all things.

“No, no. Well, not entirely. You’re my invitation card into that place. I want to get in, pick a few choice ingredients fresh, and then get out. I’m assuming you’ll be able to rescue Dean and Castiel at the same time.”

He thought it through a moment and nodded. “Right, so you get your superstore witch ingredients shopping done, I get to save Cas and Dean.”

“And, I saved your life.”

“Yeah, yeah. I owe you one.”

“Do I get to pick which...” Rowena’s eyes drifted down to Sam’s groin, “one? After all, you nearly became stud material.”

“Rowena,” Sam growled, fairly sure she wasn’t actually insinuating they’d have sex. Sam wasn’t entirely in the know when it came to spells that involved human ejaculate, but his six sense was telling him he didn’t want to give her any of his bodily fluids.

“Come on, it isn’t like I don’t already have several locks of your hair. You’re lucky I did so I could summon you in the first place.”

Sam’s hand snapped up to the back of his head, feeling to see what she’d taken.

“Oh don’t worry, Deary, I’ve had them a long time. It’s probably grown back by now. I just took a little bit so I could try and work out what hair care products you use.”

 _Well, that was a terrible excuse,_ thought Sam. His nostril’s flared as he took a deep breath in, trying to focus himself on the task at hand.

“Fine. Fine, Whatever. We need to get to where this auction is taking place.”

Rowena held up a pair of handcuffs on the tip of one finger. “We’ve got to make this look realistic, Samuel. Like I’ve taken you prisoner and am returning you after an accidental summoning. They’ll welcome us in with open arms after that!”

Sam knew it was a bad idea the moment the handcuffs locked around his wrists. His only comforting thought was that if they really did have plans to breed him for use in their hybrids, hopefully that meant he wasn’t going to get killed a second time that day.

 _Hopefully_.

* * *

 [Go to Chapter 10.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629698)


	8. Chapter 8

 

You really wanted Sam dead?? GASP. 

[Go to Chapter 7 and fix this right now.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629326)

 


	9. Chapter 9

Castiel’s brain hadn’t registered seeing the shots, but it did feel the blood that sprayed over his face as Dean and Sam were slaughtered.

“I knew you three wouldn’t be able to resist this.”

_It was a set up?_

“And now we got ourselves an angel as well. Going to sell real well this one.”

Dean and Sam were on the floor. Castiel’s brain was telling him he should fight, or flee, or just… But… But…

The group had slapped handcuffs and several lengths of heavy chains on him before he could finish processing what was happening to him.

They were dead. Sam and Dean were dead. They had to be from how much blood there were. All the bullet holes…

“Inject him with that stuff already, I don’t wannabe transporting a conscious angel.”

* * *

 

[Go to Chapter 8 to follow Sam’s journey beyond the grave…](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629413)

[Go to Chapter 10 if you want to see what happened to Dean next... ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15354312/chapters/35629698)


	10. Chapter 10

Dean’s head was throbbing, but the pain in his leg detracted from that at least a little bit. When he finally situated himself, he realized he was in a lock-up of some sorts, surrounded on three sides by bare, cement walls, with a set of thin bars at the front. He grabbed onto the bars and hauled himself up. Dean had to hold into the metal firmly to keep himself upright. He was keenly aware he’d probably lost a lot of blood at some point.

The light was so low he couldn’t really see much around him. What he could see though made him realize the situation was much worse than he’d anticipated.

_Not a lock-up then…_

It was a prison, and an old one at that. Rows and rows of bars could be seen from Dean’s cell. Growls and squawks disturbed the silence as something in the cell across from his tried to ram its way free. He could see human-looking arms and legs trying to wiggle their way past the bars.

Soon enough he could hear the same snarling-screech resonate around the space followed by the clanging of the bars as the cells’ inhabitants threw themselves against them, biding for freedom. And, Dean was sure, trying to get to him. It seemed to Dean that now he was awake, they all were too.

First things though, he had to get out.

Removing his jacket Dean tried to tear the sleeve off his shirt.

“Oh, come on,” Dean growled at the sleeve that refused to budge. He knew he couldn’t even attempt to try escaping until he could get something around his open, bleeding wound. With a huff Dean took his over shirt, wrapping it securely and tying it firmly as he could.

From out of his shoe Dean picked up the small lockpicking set he kept stashed in there and went to work on the lock. Worry for Sam and Castiel crowded his thoughts, though not enough to outstrip the well-practiced skill he needed to open the lock. When it finally clicked open, Dean stuck his head out and looked up and down the corridor. He hobbled a few steps out of his cell. Once more of the other prisoners could see him, the noise hit 11.

Certain that his captors would be coming to investigate soon, Dean started to hobble down towards the end of the corridor. Briefly looking in one of the cells though, he was overcome with shock. Staring right back at him was a carbon copy of himself.

“What the fuck?”

Dean shook his head and tried to focus on the task at hand. He hobbled-ran as fast as he could, passing at least forty cells, each with its own Dean doppelgänger, all of whom looked like they wanted nothing more than to kill him.

The only escape out of the room Dean could see were the elevator doors. If he activated them though, he was aware he’d be broadcasting very loudly to his captors that he was free. If he remained, he was stuck here with the fake hims who were out for his blood.

Dean pressed the call button for the elevator. He stood to the side and pressed his back to the wall when it arrived and the doors opened in case anyone came out. When no one did, Dean walked in and looked at the buttons. The building was 26 floors in total. But Dean’s dilemma now was that if he went for the first floor, it’d be a safer exit but more likely to be people there. But if he went for the highest floor, he could see if there was a fire escape he could climb down. If there even was an escape.

Closing his eyes, Dean decided it was better to let fate decide…

* * *

 

Go to Chapter TBD for Dean to descend to the first floor. 

Go to Chapter TBD for Dean to end up on the 26th floor.

Go to Chapter 1 if you want to restart this ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm ending this here for now because I completely messed up and didn't realise how much work it would require! I had a very simple plot in mind, but then all these options spawning other options *cough*. 
> 
> Written for my fave writing contest, SPNColdestHits! 
> 
> The challenge this month was [Mixed Metaphors and Terrible Excuses](http://spncoldesthits.tumblr.com/post/175912371415/spncoldesthits-mixed-metaphors-and-terrible). Rules and full prompt at the link. 
> 
> Feel free to come say hi on Tumblr! I'm [perfackles](http://www.perfackles.tumblr.com/) for anything Supernatural related. 
> 
> Or my general fun-filled account [coconutice22](http://www.coconutice22.tumblr.com/).


End file.
